RYAN Giggs has been cleared to play in Wales’ Euro 2004 play-off decider tomorrow after UEFA rejected Russia’s bid to have him kicked out of the match.

RYAN Giggs has been cleared to play in Wales’ Euro 2004 play-off decider tomorrow after UEFA rejected Russia’s bid to have him kicked out of the match.

UEFA’s disciplinary chiefs rejected an appeal by the Russian Football Union to have Giggs banned for the clash at the Millennium Stadium following an alleged elbow on defender Vadim Evseev in Saturday’s explosive first leg. But the Manchester United midfielder will have to face a UEFA charge of “improper conduct” at a later date, which could result in a subsequent ban, but most likely will be a fine. The decision comes after the depths of Russian desperation to stop Giggs playing finally surfaced. After a tape of the incident failed to arrive at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, and was unlikely to do so today, the Russians sent a video clip of the match via e-mail late on Tuesday afternoon. Appeal That forced UEFA to consider the appeal, which they would not have done had the evidence not arrived in Nyon until the day of the match. But after disciplinary committee members had reviewed the incident, they decided it was not serious enough for a violent conduct charge, although the Welshman still has a case to answer. A UEFA spokesman said: “Ryan Giggs will be able to play in the second leg against Russia, but he will have to answer a subsequent charge of improper conduct.” And Europe’s governing body have also explained on a website announcement that time restraints made it impossible to ban Giggs from the Millennium Stadium match because any player has the right to answer a charge in writing. That would have been impossible in the circumstances. The statement on www.uefa.com read: “Under UEFA rules the principle is that a player has the right to state his case in writing. Lack of time “Due to time restraints, Giggs would not have been able to do that.” Fears that Giggs could get a one or two match ban are also likely to be unfounded. For “improper conduct” charges, players if found guilty are usually fined a nominal amount. The Football Association of Wales had feared any ban would mean Giggs could miss the bulk of group matches in Portugal, should Mark Hughes’ men qualify. Hughes has been seething about the Russian move to get Giggs suspended, having witnessed the Manchester United star being kicked throughout Saturday’s first leg, and then receive a horror tackle which prompted the incident with Evseev. “The Russians have tried to get the best player we have out of our side, by fair means or foul,” declared Hughes. “I think that is the motivation for their actions. “It was not a challenge or a deliberate strike by Ryan, he was trying to free himself from the guy behind him.” Hughes has seen his preparation for the match totally disrupted by not knowing for two days which players he could select from. Light training He added: “This has not been helpful for us going into a game which is the biggest game in Welsh history.” And Hughes also reveals that Giggs has not been able to train properly since the team returned to Cardiff on Sunday and is still a slight doubt for tomorrow’s match. He said: “Some players did not take part in all the session yesterday, Ryan just had a little warm up. “We hope he will be fit, but he is still suffering from that very bad tackle. “He is very sore at the moment, but we hope he will be there. It is still a worry, he has lacerations the whole length of his shin and that is always a risk. “We have good medical people here so we believe he will overcome that. You always worry about losing someone like Ryan, for whatever reason.”